IN INDIAN AESTHETICS, the 'rasa' is the juice or sap that pervades through our art and culture, and guides our primal human emotions. The Navarasas, first mentioned in the ancient Hindu text the Natya Shastra, have defined the core of Indian aesthetics- our art, dance, theatre and literature are based on these nine human emotions.
The first of its kind, this collection of verses from the original Sanskrit, moves away from a mere interpretation of the rasas to an actual translation from ancient texts, such as the Subhasitavali by Vallabhadeva (fifteenth-century Kashmir), the Sarngadhara Paddhati by Sarngadhara (fourteenth-century Rajasthan), and the Sukti Muktavali by Jalhana (thirteenth-century Deccan).
Navarasa: The Nine Flavours of Sanskrit Poetry brings to us for the first time, ninety-nine verse translations on the nine rasas of ancient Hindu history.

ADITYA NARAYAN DHAIRYASHEEL HAKSAR is a well-known translator of Sanskrit classics. A long-time career diplomat, he served as the Indian high commissioner in Kenya and the Seychelles, minister in the United States and ambassador in Portugal and Yugoslavia. His translations from the Sanskrit include Hitopadesa, Tales from the Panchatantra, Simhasana Dvatrimsika, Subhasitavali, Kama Sutra, The Courtesan's Keeper, The Seduction of Shiva, Suleiman Charitra, Raghuvamsam and Three Hundred Verses. His most recent publication is The Anthology of Humorous Sanskrit Verses.